Paul Makdissi - بولس مقدسي

Monitoring Poverty in a Data-Deprived Environment Dr. Walid Marrouch and colleagues propose a method to reconstruct income distributions from incomplete surveys, showing that poverty in Lebanon rose dramatically to around 71 percent in 2021–2022.

Pleased to see our recent work highlighted. Grateful to collaborate with Walid Marrouch and Myra Yazbeck on using data to better inform policymaking in challenging contexts. We continue to push for evidence-based approaches to poverty monitoring.

news.lau.edu.lb/2026/monitor...

Canadian delegation of MPs denied entry into West Bank | CBC News A delegation of 30 Canadians, including six MPs, has been denied entry into the West Bank early Tuesday.

This is an appalling decision. I hope everyone affected is safe.

I know firsthand how important it is for international observers, including MPs, to witness the reality and facts on the ground.

www.cbc.ca/news/world/i...

I am sharing some thoughts in a conversation with the Arab Reform Initiative

www.arab-reform.net/publication/...

Probably the best use to which a degree in economics was ever put!

Unpacking Inequality: Poverty, Policy, and Lebanon’s Economic Crisis Walid Marrouch discusses with LCPS Senior Economic Researcher Lina Maddah the pressing issues of poverty and income inequality in Lebanon. Drawing from recent research and data, the conversation explo...

Listen to my colleague Walid Marrouch discuss the evolution of poverty and inequality in Lebanon in this insightful podcast.

During the episode, he refers to a joint paper he co-authored with Myra Yazbeck and myself.(onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...)

www.lcps-lebanon.org/en/podcast/d...

Freedom, agency and material conditions: human development in MENA - Economic Research Forum (ERF) Conventional approaches to measuring human development, which are primarily centred on income, health and education, provide an incomplete assessment of individuals’ capabilities to transform availabl...

Just out: my new piece in The Forum, ERF’s Policy Portal

theforum.erf.org.eg/2025/06/24/f...

On to day two! Ninth paper: @pmakdissi.bsky.social presenting on latest developments in child stunting in Tunisia. Nutrition in early childhood is such an important topic.

Adoption of decentralised solar energy: lessons from Palestinian households - Economic Research Forum (ERF) The adoption of solar energy systems is growing in conflict-affected and politically unstable countries, particularly those in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Fortunately, solar irradiance in...

An interesting Erf policy column by Walid Marrouch!

theforum.erf.org.eg/2025/05/06/a...

Pas certain que ce soit le meilleur geste symbolique dans un contexte d’un pays avec des citoyens d’origines diverses qui ont subi l’impérialisme de la couronne britannique, à commencer par les autochtones du pays, ainsi que la communauté francophone.

Happiness matters - but fleeting emotions make poor policy targets | The National The way forward is not in chasing rankings, but creating societies where citizens have the opportunity to build meaningful lives

Declan McVeigh, The National, invited me to share a few thoughts on happiness. Here is the piece.

www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comm...

Je ne pensais jamais avoir à faire face à ce genre de situation dans ma carrière académique au Canada.

www.caut.ca/fr/latest/20...

What’s happening with Lebanon’s economy and will it recover? Lebanon’s economy has struggled for years as people’s discontent with the government grew.

An interesting opinion piece by Walid Marrouch

aje.io/au5ley

« Le temps est venu de soumettre les très grandes fortunes à un taux minimal d’imposition » : l’appel de personnalités derrière Gabriel Zucman TRIBUNE. La commission des finances a adopté, mercredi 12 février, une proposition de loi pour instaurer un impôt plancher de 2 % sur les patrimoines de plus de 100 millions d’euros. D’Eric Coquerel à...

Refuser le principe d’un taux plancher d’imposition des ultra-riches, c’est défendre le « droit » des milliardaires à payer zéro.

Notre appel dans Le Monde, avec de nombreuses personnalités du monde politique, syndical et de la société civile

👇👇👇

www.lemonde.fr/idees/articl...

The AP says it was blocked from the Oval Office over continuing to use “Gulf of Mexico” | CNN Business The Associated Press said the White House barred its reporter from Tuesday’s Oval Office executive order signing because of the AP style guidance on using the name Gulf of Mexico versus Gulf of Americ...

The Associated Press said the White House barred its reporter from Tuesday’s Oval Office executive order signing because of the AP style guidance on using the name Gulf of Mexico versus Gulf of America.

Trust in Lebanon’s public institutions: a challenge for the new leadership - Economic Research Forum (ERF) The election of General Joseph Aoun as president of Lebanon in early 2025, followed by Nawaf Salam’s selection as prime minister, comes at a critical juncture after years of institutional paralysis. I...

Our latest policy column in The Forum, ERF Policy Portal, examines trust, or the lack thereof, in civil institutions and the military in Lebanon over the past decade. Coauthored with Walid Marrouch (LAU) and Myra Yazbeck (uOttawa).

theforum.erf.org.eg/2025/01/28/t...

Our paper on poverty in Lebanon has been allocated to the February 2025 issue of the Review of Income and Wealth.

It's open access, so feel free to share. Let's foster an evidence-based poverty and inequality conversation in Lebanon.

doi.org/10.1111/roiw...

#PovertyResearch #Lebanon #Inequality

Thank you to the #Community Economies Research Network #CERN, and Jenny Cameron for this sharing of my newest sole authored book.
Click this link for the story, www.communityeconomies.org/news/activis...

Unusual to see a strong gain in employment (+51K) alongside a major jump in the unemployment rate (to 6.8%). A 0.3 %-point rebound in participation is the 'culprit' this month: previously, falling participation partly masked the decline in the employment rate. #cdnecon #canlab /2

1/ 🚨 Want to do a Phd in Economics?

besides our normal intake @gvagrad.bsky.social
we have 3 generously funded PhD positions with a 4-year
Swiss National Science Foundation packages!

Read on for details and please repost and share with potentially interested

Rising influence: women’s empowerment within Arab households - Economic Research Forum (ERF) Freedom is a critical dimension of wellbeing. Yet as previously argued in a column here (Makdissi, 2024a), it remains underrepresented in most multidimensional assessments of welfare, inequality and p...

My last piece in The Forum, the ERF Policy Portal.

The Color of Ideas: Racial Dynamics and Citations in Economics Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...

An interesting paper from my uOttawa colleague Roland Pongou with Marlène Kofi and Leonard Wantchekon.

www.nber.org/papers/w33150

My new book 2024 The Banker Ladies is on the #Solidarity Economy. Focused on the Black #Diaspora women.
Available on amazon, ebook, paperback and audio. Low price point.
Please share.
Irie. #feminism #Development #politicaleconomy

Child stunting in Tunisia: an alarming rise - Economic Research Forum (ERF) In the first two decades of the 21st century, there was a remarkable 32.5% reduction in the incidence of child stunting in Tunisia: from 12.3% among children aged under five in 2000 to 8.3% in 2018. T...

2/2 Link to the policy column: theforum.erf.org.eg/2024/10/01/c...

YouTube video by EconomiX Retard de croissance chez les enfants en Tunisie : une hausse alarmante | Paul Makdissi

Lors de mon passage du mois dernier à EconomiX (Université Paris Nanterre), j’ai accordé une entrevue pour leur chaîne YouTube sur un « policy column » que j’avais écrit pour @ERFlatest en septembre 1/2.

youtu.be/C1y39fuKjRQ?si…